Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-10-16

the pointed arches, the massive pillars,
the ghostly shadow and deep dreamy
stillness-amid which the echo OF our
footsteps sounds unnaturally loud-all
speak so strongly of the past that we
should hardly be surprised to see Will
liam de Wykeham himself, with his
episcopal crosier and mitre, come
sweeping toward us from the door of
the beautiful chantry which he built
here "for the repose of his soul. " and
which is certainly as well worth visit
as any spot in the whole college.
"Now we come TO the old school
room, says Mr.. s., unlocking another
door, "but it's been so much altered Of
late that you would hardly know it
again if you had seen it in its original
state. | have an engraving OF it at
home rs it was before the alterations,
which III show you when we have flu
ished our inspection. You see there are
still few relics of the old style remain
ing. That armchair raised above the
floor at the upper end of the room
was for the head master, and two
of the Presidents sat in those two
chairs to the right and left of it. Then
the boys, when they had prepared their
lessons at the lower end of the room,
came up and said them on that long
oaken bench that runs along the wall
below the head masters chair, and
that's why we still talk of going up TO
books instead of going into school.
And there on that board up above the
door are the original Latin rules of the
school, if you can see to read them. "
There they are, sure enough, those
quaint, grabbed symbols of the iron
discipline prevalent in the "good old
times" VIXEN no boy was supposed to
have properly completed his education
unless he had been logged at least
once or twice week till the blood ran
down. One can fancy what the young
scrapegraces of that age would think OF
injunctiOns to "keep their eyes modest
ly fixed upon the ground and to "let
nothing light or proiane be read among
them" rule which must have borne
very hard upon any poor little fell
low who had secretly brought his ia
yorite arabian Nights" or Robin
son Crusoe" into school along with
him. Equally unpalatable to these
active lads must have been the ordi-
nance which prescribed for them by
way of exercise and amusement a
prominent two-and.two-after the flu
neral fashion customary with boarding
schools and cOnvicts-to the top of 81.
Catharine,s Hill on the outskirts of the
city. This strange custom, as | learn
from Mr.. S., has held its own up to n
comparatively recent date, although it
is fortunately abolished now.
BY this time the day is wearing to-
ward afternoon, and we have to make
short work of the great dining-hall,
which. with its dark oaken screen and
antquated "buttery hatch" looks
more thoroughly medieval than any
thing we have yet seen. On a kind OF
raised dais at the upper end of the
room appears a small round table, with
single knife and fork upon It. in
tended forthe use Of the luckless official
whose duty it Is TO preside at the
school dinners, and who sits here
in solitary state, like a professional
Robinson Crusoe on an extremely linz
ted island. As J begin to make notes
of these details Mr.. $. suddenly
produces for my inspection one of the
old-fashioned "platters formerly used
IN this hill, which are now almost SUI
pCrseded hy tine modern plate. 1t IS a
smooth, square piece Of wood, hardly
bigger than an ordinary Dutch-st0ye
tile and absolutely without rim or pro-
lection OF any sort along its edges.
Glow on earth did they manage
with their gravy in those days? ask |,
looking wonderingly Mt this character
istic sample OF the wisdom of our an
ccStors. cit seems to me that they
might just as well have eaten their din
ncrs of the table itsclf-rather better,
in fact, for then the gravy would have
had farther to run" "Well, replies
Mr.. s., laughing, 81 believe the cor
rect thing WAS to make a wall Of pota-
toes along the four sides, and then pat
the gravy in the middle. Besides, |
dare say that in the good Oldtimes they
didn't trouble themselves much about
n few splashes Of grease, more CT less.
See, here's one Of our ancient BLACK
jacks"
He points to huge antique ing of
black leather, which, although now
leaky and useless, has evidently seen
plenty of service in its time. When
filed to the brim it must certainly have
held at least a gallon of strong beer,
and even the mighty drinkers Of the
olden time probably found one such
bumper quite enough for them. l in-
wardly wonder whether one of the es-
sential qualifications required from
sixteenth century master of the school
can have been the capacity of emptying
this formidable tankard at a single
draught without taking breath.
Then we 20 through some Of the old
rooms, which, with their Oaken "sup-
porting pillar " in the centre, and their
deep-niche-like windows with stone
steps leading mp to them. are certainly
a curious sight. In one corner lnotice
a queer, antique bedstead, said to date
back to the time Of William dc Wyke-
ham himself, with a kind of wooden
hutch over the head Of ii, not mike
the hood of cab. But this ancient
bed, on which some medieval young
ster once dreamed of endless holidays
and unlimited taffy, now serves the
ominOus purpose Of containing the
official birches used in administering
punishment.
This concludes the inspection Of the
school, bud on the following day Mr.
S., warming to his work, marches me
off again to examine the crypt of the
cathedral, which, when l last visited
Winchester, was completely blocked
up with mass Of earth and stones that
is now cleared away. The verger-a
man after Dickens's own heart points
out with evident satisfaction the very
spot where Bishop Courtcnay was
found walled up between two pillars,
and the place where ave found queer
sort O. coffin, sir, all covered with
pitch as close as ever il could stick, and q
lot O ropes of twisted grass wound
round and round it. and when we
opened the coffin it was all full of hay
and the skeleton in the middle, for all
the world like game in a hamper. Now,
here's something that you went see